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jardinista_gw

Mice!!!

jardinista
13 years ago

Don't know if this is the right forum,but want to know what everyone else is doing. I live in a suburb just West of Boston and I got a lot of mice. At first,saw some droppings,now hear them in the walls at night and my husband caught two bare handed in the middle of the day! I know I can call an exterminator,set traps etc. But just wondering if others are being overrun,why this year,and what creative,and or effective things are you doing to get the mouse outta the house. Thanks,Jardinista

Comments (15)

  • mike_kaiser_gw
    13 years ago

    Mice (and other animals) want the same things you do -- food, water, and a warm place to sleep.

    Traps and simple and effective. Look for places then can enter you home, it doesn't take a very big hole. Clean up droppings and wash the area because the urine can provide a "map" for other mice to follow.

  • barbara1taylor
    13 years ago

    I think that you have to put the traps at the places where there is a food and stuff like that

  • bookert
    13 years ago

    I have tons of mice activity ( not in the house ) and we use several methods to deter them from getting inside.
    Try putting plastic lids filled with cola where you see activity. They can't burp and die bloated. Really!
    We also fill in any cracks with the expandable foam found at hardware stores. Eventually they eat thru it, but we refoam when that happens.
    The best method IMO is to buy the TomCat blocks of green poison. You must keep it securely hidden as it's toxic to pets! For some reason they love the taste. Yes, one of my former doggies ate a box. He lived, but the vet costs were huge! Lesson learned!
    If one gets in the house you can use either the cola or bait. Works for us.

  • greencleaning
    13 years ago

    Glue pads or trays are another option, although my personal experience has been less than ideal. I set out several of these pads where mouse activity was present and caught only crawling bugs. The sticky pads are to be placed where mouse activity has been seen or is suspected. Supposedly, when a mouse crosses the sticky surface, it cannot get off. If left there, it will die and the whole thing can simply be thrown away. I considered the possibility of dealing with a live mouse and decided the pads were not for me.

  • badgergrrl
    13 years ago

    Glue pads and d-con are awful on a lot of levels. While they are pests, and no one wants them in their houses, myself included, we can at least kill them humanely. Get good quality snap traps (ortho or the d-con snap traps - not the bait) or the victor battery-operated one (it electrocutes them quickly).

    I had one bad experience (not as bad as the mouse's, though) with a classic victor trap and had to clean a lot of mouse blood up - never again.

  • jennifer_in_kansas
    13 years ago

    I agree with Bookert - poisons are a dangerous way to try to eliminate mice. The rodents don't die immediately with poison. They can wander off and die in an area accessible to pets. They can also die in interior walls and floors - yuck.

    I remember a post a while back using water, peanut butter & a 5-gallon bucket. (go go macgyver!) I'll see if I can find it and bump it up.

    BTW - seeing mice during the day isn't a good sign. You were right to contact an exterminator. They should be your main resource for elimination procedures.

  • jennifer_in_kansas
    13 years ago

    Just re-read your post and realize you haven't contacted an exterminator yet.

    It's my understanding that seeing rodents during the day is a sign you might be close to being infested. Its not natural for them to be foraging during the day, in plain sight, unless there are so many they are competing for food.

    Elimination at this point is not a DIY project. Keep us posted.

  • beanwabr
    13 years ago

    We had a mouse problem in 2007 from January to April that for a while I thought we were NEVER going to get rid of. We used Terminix, and he left us with glue boards inside and placed some sort of bait under the house. Sure, they can die on the board, but there were occasions where they escaped, sometimes leaving a foot or two stuck on there! We were also advised to plug holes as small as a dime with steel wool (supposedly can't chew through) and finish with expanding foam. Also, never leave peanut butter out because they love it. I hope you can get your problem remedied!

  • nonpariel
    13 years ago

    Agree that the rodents are just trying to earn a living but unfortunately their presence and depredations are intolerable. However I find no justification for inhumane methods of extermination. Glue traps mean a horrible death for the rodent IF it doesn't escape minus its paws, and other posters outlined the downfalls of poisons. I have been using the black plastic Tomcat snap traps for some years now and have found them better than any other. They kill 'em instantly dead over and over. Obviously they have to be placed where children, or adults for that matter, or pets cannot get caught in their strong jaws. I keep one rat-size and one mouse-size set. Had no rodents since last spring and then suddenly, well you know. Certain things are inevitable like rust, moths, death and taxes. And three down this week. There'll be more. Hate killing such cute tiny mousies. But its them or me. These are so small that they don't trip the big trap. But oh that peanut butter in the little trap, they can't resist it.

  • jardinista
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Welll--lots of responses. Thanks all very much. What have I done since posting my question?---NOTHING. Sooo lazy.Also seems like activity really died down,no scratchings,no sightings.But alas,last night,bag of walnuts chewed into. I'm with many of you that the poisons and glue traps are just unappealing,but the amount of mouse poop is even more unappealing.My other reson for inaction is,my husband is appalled at killing them--They're natural!! he says. So I don't have an ally in my fight. So,I think I will get some of the traps I saw at big box store--little condos with bait in them,the doors close behind them and they die in there. Voila!disposo-mouse. Considered a cat--even bigger poop!! But might reconsider... Thanks,again

  • nwroselady
    13 years ago

    Jardinista, cats are not necessarily the solution to the mouse problem. I live in the country and when my cats catch mice, they carry them carefully into the house to play with them. Unfortunately, they often drop them, alive and uninjured, so they are free to wander around. (The cats lose interest if they can't see them.) I found a mouse body under my bed the other day. I use the old-fashioned spring traps baited with peanut butter, and they work like a charm.

  • buyorsell888
    12 years ago

    nwroselady, my cats bring in RATS to play with.

    I agree, they can't resist peanut butter...I'm not sure what is worse, live rats or dead ones that we find by the smell...

    cute little mousies would be a big improvement over Norway rats...

  • MollyMay
    11 years ago

    We built our new home in the country and when we moved in we saw mice running around and mice dropping every where. Not sure why that didn't dawn on me this could be an issue living in the country. They really freaked me out. I told my husband I couldn't live here with all the mice. I heard an ad on the radio about the plug in's to eliminate the mice. Ran right down and bought one for every room. Probably didn't need that many. Anyway never had another mouse in the house. We have moved since but I make sure I plugged into my new house as we are still in the country. I still have no mice issues other then outside I see dropping by my outdoor BBQ. The plug in's really work.

  • maxmom96
    11 years ago

    I have no idea what you mean by 'plug-ins, although if they're that effective I wish I knew about them before my problem about a month ago.

    I tried all the glue papers, traps, etc, and nothing worked till I got the heavy-duty poison to put out. I would much rather not have had to use that if there was some other way to do it.

    Tell me more.

  • albert_135   39.17°N 119.76°W 4695ft.
    11 years ago

    My guess is that outside mice in the country before a home is occupied are probably ''field mice'' or ''voles'' and will not come into the new house.

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